The present invention relates generally to a natural biogenerated cheese flavoring system which can be used to prepare very different cheeses having desired flavor profiles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a natural biogenerated cheese flavoring system comprising a sulfury-cheddar flavored component, a creamy-buttery flavored component, and a cheesy flavored component. Each of these flavored components can be used as flavor building blocks with their own specific flavor profiles and/or characteristics. Using various combinations of these flavored components, cheeses having a wide variety of flavors can easily be produced. The flavored components are separately prepared from a highly concentrated milk substrate using ingredients (e.g., specific enzymes, cultures, and additives) and process conditions designed to provide the flavor components having specific flavor profiles and/or characteristics. The flavor components can be used in process cheese, natural cheese, or other cheeses to produce very different cheeses with desired flavor profiles. The flavor concentrates can also be used as a natural flavoring system in other food products.
Natural cheese is generally made by developing acidity in milk and setting the milk with a clotting agent, such as rennet, or by developing acidity to the isoelectric point of the protein. The set milk is cut and whey is separated from the resulting curd. The curd may be pressed to provide a cheese block. Curing typically takes place over a lengthy period of time under controlled conditions. Cheddar cheese, for example, is cured for a period of at least four months and may be cured for a period in excess of one year to obtain the full flavor desired in cheddar cheese.
It is well known to provide a product having some of the characteristics of natural cheese by grinding a natural cheese, and heating it with an emulsifying salt. The name given to the resulting product depends upon the ingredients used and its composition and, in some instances, is determined by regulations promulgated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 21 C.F.R. xc2xa7133.169-180. For example, the term xe2x80x9cpasteurized process cheesexe2x80x9d refers to a product comprising a blend of cheeses to which an emulsifying agent, usually an emulsifying salt, and possibly acids, have been added, and which has then been worked and heated into a homogeneous plastic mass. The flavor of process cheese is dependent on utilizing a high proportion of long hold (aged over four months) natural cheese. The use of long hold cheese increases the cost of process cheese due to storage and inventory costs. The yield of natural cheese produced by conventional methods is relatively low; generally about 10-12 pounds of cheese are produced per 100 pounds of milk. This also increases costs.
The term xe2x80x9cpasteurized process cheese foodxe2x80x9d refers to a product which is prepared from the same materials and the same processes used for manufacture of process cheese. However, such cheese foods generally have dairy ingredients added thereto, such as cream, milk, skimmed milk, whey, or any of these from which part of the water has been removed (e.g., concentrated skimmed milk). The moisture level in process cheese food is generally higher than that of process cheese and may be up to about 44 percent. Fat is generally present at a level of not less than 23 percent.
The term xe2x80x9cpasteurized process cheese spreadxe2x80x9d refers to a product which is similar to cheese food, in the sense that it can contain the indicated dairy ingredients. Process cheese spreads, however, may have moisture levels as high as 60 percent and minimum fat levels of 20 percent.
Process cheese, process cheese food, and process cheese spread are referred to as xe2x80x9cstandardized products,xe2x80x9d since their methods of manufacture and composition are determined by Federal Standards of Identity.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cprocess cheese-type productsxe2x80x9d includes those products known and referred to as xe2x80x9cpasteurized process cheese,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cpasteurized process cheese food,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cpasteurized process cheese spread,xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cpasteurized process cheese product.xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cProcess cheese type-productsxe2x80x9d also includes products resembling process cheese, process cheese food, process cheese spread, and process cheese product, but which may not meet the U.S. Federal Standards of Identity for any of the above products in that they may contain ingredients not specified by such Standards, such as vegetable oil or vegetable protein, or may not meet the compositional requirements of such Standards. Process cheese-type products also include products having flavor and texture similar to those of a process cheese-type product regardless of the ingredients or manufacturing steps employed, and regardless of whether the Standards have been met.
There have been many efforts to produce a naturally derived highly flavored cheese ingredient, which can be used in process cheese, in a shortened period of time. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,483 is directed to a method for producing a highly flavored cheese ingredient. In this process, cheese curd is first produced, the resulting xe2x80x9cgreenxe2x80x9d cheddar-type cheese curds are ground and then combined with a protease, a lipase, and water and incubated for about 5 to 6 days. The term xe2x80x9cgreenxe2x80x9d cheddar-type cheese curd refers to a cheddar cheese which has been aged less than about 60 days.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,900 is directed to producing a natural cheese product having a highly intensified American cheese flavor which is adapted for use in the preparation of process cheese. In the method, cheese curd is produced in the usual way, wherein a coagulum is produced from milk, the coagulum is cut to produce curds and whey and the whey is drained to provide cheese curds. The curd particles are produced, mixed with salt, a source of lipolytic enzyme, and a source of a proteolytic enzyme and cured for a period of time sufficient to produce increased levels of C2-C10 fatty acids, as compared to conventional American-type cheese.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,732 is directed to a method for rapidly producing cheese. In this method, rennet, kid lipase, and calf lipase are mixed with milk during the fermenting period. The milk is then coagulated and cut into curd particles followed by processing by the normal procedure for producing cheddar cheese, which includes a whey draining step. The curd is formed into a cheese block and the cheese block is aged for about 10 weeks to provide an intense aged cheddar cheese flavor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,544 describes a method for producing cheddar cheese from pasteurized milk wherein an enzyme mixture is added to cheddared curds to substantially reduce the curing time of the cheese block. The cheese blocks are cured for a period of one month at 10 to 25xc2x0 C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,971 is directed to a process for the rapid manufacture of cheese products. In the process, a cultured cheese component is prepared by proteolyzing milk protein and by lipolyzing milkfat and forming a mixed fermentate of these hydrolyzed materials. The mixed fermentate is combined with a cheese starter culture and fermented to provide the cultured cheese component. The cultured cheese component is then mixed with a milk protein concentrate and a fat concentrate. This mixture is fermented to provide a cheese material capable of being made into process cheese type products by conventional cheese cooking techniques.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/314,713, filed on May 19, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,445, and owned by the same assignee as the present application, provided a method for making enzyme-modified cheese flavorings in which treatment with a proteolytic enzyme occurred prior to any heating step, and in which the enzyme treatment was relatively short (i.e., normally less than about 12 hours). This process included the steps of: (i) contacting a dairy liquid containing whey protein with a proteolytic enzyme to provide a dairy reaction mixture; (ii) incubating the dairy reaction mixture at a temperature and for a period of time that are sufficient to partially hydrolyze proteins; (iii) pasteurizing the partially hydrolyzed dairy reaction mixture; (iv) contacting the pasteurized mixture with a composition comprising a lipase and a cheese culture and incubating for a time and at a temperature that are sufficient for cheese flavor to develop; and (v) treating the fermented mixture with heat sufficient to inactivate the culture, destroy microbial contaminants, and inactivate the enzymes; thereby providing the enzyme-modified cheese flavoring.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/141,082, filed on Aug. 27, 1998, now abandoned, and also owned by the same assignee as the present application, provided a method for producing a highly flavored component for use in cheese manufacture in a short period of time without utilizing a whey draining step or producing cheese curds. A cheese flavor precursor (i.e., an aqueous, acidified protein, and fat substrate) was prepared by mixing together a dried or concentrated protein source, a fat source, an acid source, and water. An enzyme system was then added to the substrate. The enzyme system included a lipase, a protease, and a peptidase. The substrate was then fermented for a time sufficient to provide a highly developed cheese flavor in the substrate. The substrate was then heated to a temperature and held at that temperature for a time sufficient to inactivate the enzyme system.
Although these methods generally provide highly flavored cheese components, they are generally limited to flavor profiles suitable for producing only a single type of flavored cheese. Thus, it is not possible to produce cheeses having widely differing and desirable flavor profiles using these methods. Moreover, none of these methods produce highly flavored cheese components having, or contributing to, sharp cheddar notes. It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a cheese flavoring system whereby cheeses having desirable and widely varying flavor profiles can be prepared. It would also be desirable to provide a cheese flavoring system which can duplicate a wide variety of desirable flavored cheeses using only a few flavoring components. It would also be desirable to provide a highly flavored cheese component having sharp cheddar notes. The present invention provides such cheese flavoring systems and a highly flavored cheese component having, or contributing to, sharp cheddar notes.
The present invention relates generally to a natural biogenerated cheese flavoring system which can be used to prepare cheeses having desired flavor profiles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cheese flavoring system comprising a xe2x80x9csulfury-cheddarxe2x80x9d flavored component, a xe2x80x9ccreamy-butteryxe2x80x9d flavored component, and a xe2x80x9ccheesyxe2x80x9d flavored component. Each of these flavored components can be used as flavor building blocks with their own specific flavor profiles and/or characteristics. Using various combinations of these flavored components (i.e., the cultured cheese concentrate of this invention), cheeses having a wide variety of flavors can be produced. The flavored components are separately prepared from a highly concentrated milk substrate using enzymes, cultures, additives, and process conditions designed to provide flavor components having specific flavor profiles and/or characteristics. The flavor concentrates can be used to prepare process cheese or other cheeses with desired flavor profiles. The flavor concentrates can be added to the milk substrate used to produce the cheese, wherein the milk substrate is then treated to produce the desired cheese. Alternatively, the flavor concentrates can be added to a cheese or dairy base (i.e., a cheese curd and/or dairy solids lacking the desired flavor profile) to produce the desired cheese. The flavor concentrates can also be used as a natural flavoring system in other food products.
The present invention provides a flavoring system comprising a sulfury-cheddar flavor component, a creamy-buttery flavor component, and a cheesy flavor component,
wherein the sulfury-cheddar flavor component is prepared by treating a first milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, and optionally a lipolytic enzyme and a high proteolytic activity culture, at a temperature of about 70 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 10 to about 24 hours to obtain first mixture having a pH of about 5.4 or less, adding a sulfur-containing substrate to the first mixture to form a second mixture, treating the second mixture with a Brevibacterium linens culture or a yeast from the genera Debaromyces or Kluyeromyces, whereby the Brevibacterium linens culture or the yeast can convert the sulfur-containing substrate to sulfur-containing flavor compounds, at a temperature of about 65 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 3 to about 10 days to form a third mixture, and treating the third mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate the cultures and enzymes in the third mixture to form the sulfury-cheddar flavor component;
wherein the creamy-buttery flavor component is prepared by treating a second milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, and optionally a lipolytic enzyme, at a temperature of about 70 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 10 to about 24 hours to form a fourth mixture, adding sodium citrate to the fourth mixture to form a fifth mixture, treating the fifth mixture with a diacetyl-producing flavor culture at about 70 to about 90xc2x0 F. for about 1 to about 10 days to form a sixth mixture, and treating the sixth mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate the cultures and enzymes in the sixth mixture to form the creamy-buttery flavor component;
wherein the cheesy flavor component is prepared by treating a third milk concentrate with a lipase, a protease, and a peptidase at a temperature of about 60 to about 140xc2x0 F. for about 0.5 to about 10 days to form a seventh mixture and treating the seventh mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate enzymes in the seventh mixture to form the cheesy flavor component; and
wherein the sulfury-cheddar flavor component, the creamy-buttery flavor component, and the cheesy flavor component of the cheese flavoring system can be incorporated in varying amounts into food products to produce a wide variety of flavors. The present flavoring system is especially adapted for incorporation into a cheese or dairy base to produce cheese products.
The present invention also provides a cheese flavoring system comprising a sulfury-cheddar flavor component, a creamy-buttery flavor component, and a cheesy flavor component,
wherein the sulfury-cheddar flavor component is prepared by treating a first milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, optionally a lipolytic enzyme, optionally a high proteolytic activity culture, a sulfur-containing substrate, and a Brevibacterium linens culture or a yeast from the genera Debaromyces or Kluyeromyces, whereby the Brevibacterium linens culture or the yeast can convert the sulfur-containing substrate to sulfur-containing flavor compounds, at a temperature of about 65 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 3 to about 10 days to form a first mixture, and treating the first mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate cultures and enzymes in the first mixture to form the sulfury-cheddar flavor component;
wherein the creamy-buttery flavor component is prepared by treating a second milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, optionally a lipolytic enzyme, a diacetyl-producing flavor culture, and sodium citrate at a temperature of about 70 to about 90xc2x0 F. for about 1 to about 10 days to form a second mixture and treating the second mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate cultures and enzymes in the second mixture to form the creamy-buttery flavor component;
wherein the cheesy flavor component is prepared by treating a third milk concentrate with a lipase, a protease, and a peptidase at a temperature of about 60 to about 140xc2x0 F. for about 0.5 to about 10 days to form a third mixture and treating the third mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate enzymes in the third mixture to form the cheesy flavor component; and
wherein the sulfury-cheddar flavor component, the creamy-buttery flavor component, and the cheesy flavor component of the cheese flavoring system can be incorporated in varying amounts into a cheese or dairy base to produce cheeses having a wide variety of flavors.
The sharp cheddar flavor component or concentrate can also be used alone to replace aged flavored cheese in the manufacture of process cheese. Thus, the present invention also provides a process for producing a sharp cheddar flavor component or concentrate for use in cheese manufacture. This sharp cheddar flavor component or concentrate can be used alone to add specific flavor notes to natural cheese, especially to provide sharp cheddar notes to very young cheddar cheeses. Thus, this present invention also provides a sulfury-cheddar flavor component for use in cheese flavoring, wherein the sulfury-cheddar flavor component is prepared by treating a milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, and optionally a lipolytic enzyme and a high proteolytic activity culture, at a temperature of about 70 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 10 to about 24 hours to obtain first mixture having a pH of about 5.4 or less, adding a sulfur-containing substrate to the first mixture to form a second mixture, treating the second mixture with a Brevibacterium linens culture or a yeast from the genera Debaromyces or Kluyeromyces, whereby the Brevibacterium linens culture or the yeast can convert the sulfur-containing substrate to sulfur-containing flavor compounds, at a temperature of about 65 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 3 to about 10 days to form a third mixture, and treating the third mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate enzymes in the third mixture to form the sulfury-cheddar flavor component.
In the method, the starting material is a milk concentrate comprising an aqueous protein and fat-containing mixture. The aqueous milk-derived concentrate (i.e., a highly concentrated milk system) generally has a total solids content of about 30 to about 50 percent, a protein content of about 10 to about 19 percent, a fat content of about 15 to about 30 percent, and a lactose content of about 0.5 to about 10 percent. Preferably, the aqueous milk-derived concentrate has a total solids content of about 35 to about 47 percent, a protein content of about 12 to about 17 percent, a fat content of about 18 to about 25 percent, and a lactose content of about 0.5 to about 5 percent. Preferably, the aqueous milk-derived concentrate or substrate is a fluid milk concentrate prepared by ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UF/DF) or a reconstituted milk substrate prepared from a mixture of UF/DF milk powder and milkfat. As shown in FIG. 1, the fluid milk concentrate is then divided into three portions, each of which is treated (i.e., fermented) with specific flavor enzymes, cultures, adjuncts, and other additives for a predetermined period of time sufficient to develop specific flavor characteristics. Using this method, a xe2x80x9csulfury-cheddarxe2x80x9d component, a xe2x80x9ccreamy-butteryxe2x80x9d component, and a xe2x80x9ccheesyxe2x80x9d component can be produced. Each portion is then heated to a temperature and held at that temperature for a time sufficient to inactivate the enzyme/culture systems used to prepare the specific flavoring component. Although it is generally preferred, largely for convenience, that the same or similar milk concentrate composition is used to prepare each of the three flavor components of the present cheese flavoring system, separate milk concentrate compositions can be used to prepare each of the three flavor components if desired.
After the heat inactivation steps, the three flavored components or substrates can be used separately or can be combined in groups of two or three to provide the desired highly flavored cultured concentrate. If desired, the sulfury-cheddar component, which has strong sulfur notes, can be used alone to provide sharp cheddar flavor notes. Preferably, however, the flavoring systems employs all three flavored components in varying amounts to provide a wide variety of flavored cheeses. The flavored components or concentrates can be used directly or can be dried (e.g., spray dried) to produce highly flavored cheese/dairy powders.
Either the flavored concentrates or cheese powders can be used to prepare a wide variety of flavored cheeses. This invention also provides a method of preparing a flavored cheese using a cultured cheese concentrate, said method comprising:
(1) preparing a cheese base;
(2) incorporating about 1 to about 10 percent of the cultured cheese concentrate into the cheese base to form the flavored cheese;
wherein the cultured cheese concentrate comprises 0 to about 80 percent of a sulfury-cheddar flavor component, about 10 to about 90 percent of a creamy-buttery flavor component, and about 10 to about 90 percent of a cheesy flavor component;
wherein the sulfury-cheddar flavor component is prepared by treating a first milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, and optionally a lipolytic enzyme and a high proteolytic activity culture, at a temperature of about 70 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 10 to about 24 hours to obtain first mixture having a pH of about 5.4 or less, adding a sulfur-containing substrate to the first mixture to form a second mixture, treating the second mixture with a Brevibacterium linens culture or a yeast from the genera Debaromyces or Kluyeromyces, whereby the Brevibacterium linens culture or the yeast can convert the sulfur-containing substrate to sulfur-containing flavor compounds, at a temperature of about 65 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 3 to about 10 days to form a third mixture, and treating the third mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate cultures and enzymes in the third mixture to form the sulfury-cheddar flavor component;
wherein the creamy-buftery flavor component is prepared by treating a second milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, and optionally a lipolytic enzyme, at a temperature of about 70 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 10 to about 24 hours to form a fourth mixture, adding sodium citrate to the fourth mixture to form a fifth mixture, treating the fifth mixture with a diacetyl-producing flavor culture at about 70 to about 90xc2x0 F. for about 1 to about 10 days to form a sixth mixture, and treating the sixth mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate the cultures and enzymes in the sixth mixture to form the creamy-buttery flavor component;
wherein the cheesy flavor component is prepared by treating a third milk concentrate with a lipase, a protease, and a peptidase at a temperature of about 60 to about 140xc2x0 F. for about 0.5 to about 10 days to form a fifth mixture and treating the fifth mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate enzymes in the fifth mixture to form the cheesy flavor component; and
wherein the amounts of the sulfury-cheddar flavor component, the creamy-buttery flavor component, and the cheesy flavor component in the cultured cheese concentrate and the amount of cultured cheese concentrate incorporated into the cheese base can be adjusted to obtain flavored cheeses having a wide variety of flavors.
The present invention also provides a method of preparing a flavored cheese using a cultured cheese concentrate, said method comprising:
(1) preparing a milk substrate suitable for producing a cheese;
(2) incorporating about 1 to about 10 percent of the cultured cheese concentrate into the milk substrate;
(3) treating the milk substrate and cultured cheese concentrate to set the milk substrate;
(4) cutting the set milk substrate to form curds and whey;
(5) cooking the curds and whey;
(6) separating the curds from the whey; and
(7) forming the flavored cheese from the separated curds;
wherein the cultured cheese concentrate comprises 0 to about 80 percent of a sulfury-cheddar flavor component, about 10 to about 90 percent of a creamy-buttery flavor component, and about 10 to about 90 percent of a cheesy flavor component;
wherein the sulfury-cheddar flavor component is prepared by treating a first milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, and optionally a lipolytic enzyme and a high proteolytic activity culture, at a temperature of about 70 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 10 to about 24 hours to obtain first mixture having a pH of about 5.4 or less, adding a sulfur-containing substrate to the first mixture to form a second mixture, treating the second mixture with a Brevibacterium linens culture or a yeast from the genera Debaromyces or Kluyeromyces, whereby the Brevibacterium linens culture or the yeast can convert the sulfur-containing substrate to sulfur-containing flavor compounds, at a temperature of about 65 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 3 to about 10 days to form a third mixture, and treating the third mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate cultures and enzymes in the third mixture to form the sulfury-cheddar flavor component;
wherein the creamy-buttery flavor component is prepared by treating a second milk concentrate with a lactic acid culture, and optionally a lipolytic enzyme, at a temperature of about 70 to about 86xc2x0 F. for about 10 to about 24 hours to form a fourth mixture, adding sodium citrate to the fourth mixture to form a fifth mixture, treating the fifth mixture with a diacetyl-producing flavor culture at about 70 to about 90xc2x0 F. for about 1 to about 10 days to form a sixth mixture, and treating the sixth mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate the cultures and enzymes in the sixth mixture to form the creamy-buttery flavor component;
wherein the cheesy flavor component is prepared by treating a third milk concentrate with a lipase, a protease, and a peptidase at a temperature of about 60 to about 140xc2x0 F. for about 0.5 to about 10 days to form a fifth mixture and treating the fifth mixture at a temperature sufficient to inactivate enzymes in the fifth mixture to form the cheesy flavor component; and
wherein the amounts of the sulfury-cheddar flavor component, the creamy-buttery flavor component, and the cheesy flavor component in the cultured cheese concentrate and the amount of cultured cheese concentrate incorporated into the milk substrate can be adjusted to obtain flavored cheeses having a wide variety of flavors.